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Sept 29 — Many US Olympic athletes striving for gold in Sydney, Australia, will be using a secret weapon to help achieve their goals — chiropractic care. Many athletes use chiropractic not only for rehabilitation purposes, but also because they feel it gives them an edge in their competitions.

Dr. Andrew Klein, the official chiropractor for the 2000 US Olympic medical staff, identified a key reason why athletes have taken to chiropractic: it keeps them in top shape without the use of drugs. “Athletes have come to rely on manual therapy because the list of banned substances (for the Olympics) is so long, and also because they feel it enhances their performance.”

Nicole Freedman of Stanford, California, qualified for the 2000 US Olympic squad as a cyclist at the Olympic Team trials in Jackson, Mississippi, after being adjusted by American Chiropractic Association’s (ACA’s) Mississippi delegate Dr. Alfred Norville. Freedman penned a note to Dr. Norville, thanking him for his “winning adjustment.” Dr. Norville explained, “[Freedman] told me that she thought she needed an adjustment to be at her peak [performance level]. So I gave her an adjustment, and she went on to qualify for the Olympics.”

Dr. Jan Corwin, a past president of ACA’s Council on Sports Injuries and Physical Fitness, became the first doctor of chiropractic to travel overseas with the US Olympic Team in 1988, when he represented the chiropractic profession in Seoul, Korea. The athletes in Seoul were delighted with the chiropractic care they received.

Dr. Corwin said, “They were totally into it. I had so many patients while I was there, I didn’t even have time to eat. By the time I left Seoul I had lost 12 pounds.” Dr. Corwin went on to say, “At least 50% to 75% of all the athletes I treated had prior chiropractic care and were very aware of the benefits of chiropractic to them as athletes.” He suggested that chiropractic care “has been so successfully appreciated and received by the athletes because of all the chiropractors around the country who have been doing such a great job with the athletes in their offices on a daily basis.”

The roster of Olympic athletes who have benefited from chiropractic care is truly impressive. Star performers such as Carl Lewis, Greg Louganis, Willi Banks, Edwin Moses, and countless other greats from previous Olympics have taken advantage of chiropractic in order to get a leg up on their competition.

ACA member Dr. Steven Horwitz served as the chiropractic physician for the U.S. Olympic medical staff at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. Dr. Horwitz found his helping the athletes and the appreciation they showed for his work to be the most rewarding elements about the time he gave to the U.S. team. Sheila Taormina, 1996 U.S. Swimming 4×200 gold medallist, and Marisa Pedulla of the U.S. Judo Team, each took the time to write to Dr. Horwitz and thank him for the care he gave them. He explained that the athletes in Atlanta were so excited about the chiropractic care available to them that, “They wanted to be sure I was there for the American athletes only.” They said to him, “We fought hard to get you here, and we don’t want to give an advantage to the other athletes.”

The KISS Concept (Kinematic Imbalance due to Sub-occipital Strain)

The KISS concept was devised to incorporate the diverse symptoms I saw and treated in small children. The leading symptom is a fixed posture, sometimes a fixed lateral flexion, sometimes more a fixed retroflexion in combination with hypersensitivity of the upper neck area. For practical reasons it is useful to distinguish between KISS I (mainly fixed lateroflexion) and KISS II (primarily fixed retroflexion). Fig 4, Fig 5 give an overview of the findings found in these 2 models.

Fig 4.

KISS I clinical markers. Fixed lateroflexion: torticollis, unilateral microsomia, asymmetry of the skull, C-scoliosis of neck and trunk, asymmetry of gluteal area, asymmetry of motion of the limbs, retardation of motor development of one side.

Having treated children and infants for a number of years I was confronted with indications and therapies. Screening the relevant literature resulted in a large collection of publications, which were grouped around standard diagnoses and the various techniques of manual therapy/chiropractic/osteopathy used to treat them1, 2. Children belong to a “special population,” as the homonymous book implicates,78 but to assess the impact of functional disorders of vertebrogenic origin on the neuromotor development one has to integrate all these separate findings into a broader concept.

In many instances the techniques and indications of manual therapy are similar in children and in adults. The older children and adolescents become, the more their clinical picture is in line with what we know about adults. There are some differences in peripheral functional problems, but the bottom line is the same, such that, a local functional disorder with only limited, albeit sometimes strong, symptoms.

The “pulled elbow” (Chassaignac subluxation) of small children is such an example. A sudden pull at the extended arm of a toddler can result in a subluxation of the proximal head of the radius, which is trapped under the ligament annulare. The child’s arm hangs as if paralyzed and is not used. A simple adjustment is in most cases sufficient to revert this situation. This problem is child-specific, but does not have any impact beyond the local immobilization of the arm.

Other functional vertebrogenic disorders in small children are of different character. The effects of a local problem are felt far from their area of origin and may last much longer. The KISS concept does not intend to cover all instances of treatable spinal disorders, but to highlight those with a long-term harmful potential. This is important as many problems where children profit from an adjustment have unclear symptoms. Infantile headache, attention deficit disorder, or sensorimotor problems may be caused by a multitude of etiologic factors. To focus our efforts on children who may benefit from manual therapy, it is helpful to compare the individual case history with what is compiled as typical for KISS.

Fixed lateroflexion may be a trigger for pediatricians to ask for help from a manual therapy specialist. Other symptoms may be more important for the family, but these are less obviously connected to a functional vertebrogenic problem. Colic, for example, may be caused by KISS-related problems but pediatricians, midwives, and lactation consultants can only direct the families toward a specialist in MTC if they are aware of this possibility.

In many cases the 2 types of KISS overlap. One has to take into account that it is easier for a pediatrician to recognize the laterally fixed posture as pathological; however, the fixed retroflexion has to be actively searched for. Often it is best seen in the sleeping position of children (Fig 6, Fig 7). Initially I did not attribute much attention to this posturing. It was only after the parents reported spontaneously that their children slept much calmer and in a markedly more relaxed position that I became aware of the diagnostic importance of a fixed retroflexion of the head.

Fig 6.

A posture of fixed lateroflexion of KISS I. The left arm will be used more; therefore, the motor capabilities of this arm will be more advanced compared with the right arm. Often this asymmetry extends to the lower extremities and lead to an asymmetry of the gluteal furrows, which may be the first symptom observed by the pediatrician.

Fig 7.

The overextended sleeping position of KISS II. These children may have an orofacial hypotonia, which leads to sucking and swallowing problems. If these symptoms are combined with a fixed lateroflexion, these difficulties may lead to unilateral breast-feeding problems.

Through the observations of parents I then thought to check systematically if and how much I was able to relieve the pain of “crybabies” (ie, colic). Initially quite a few of these children were referred for the treatment of postural asymmetries and the accompanying colic was not mentioned by the parents during our interviews. In the questionnaire the parents are asked to return 6 weeks after their visit and they mentioned that the infants were much calmer and slept better.

The race started at the entrance to the Nature Center Parking Lot. It went around the track at the park and up the hill then make a left onto Nicholson Road, turn right on Cypress Knoll Drive (Diamond Run), left onto Sebago Lake Drive, right onto Alaqua Drive, and a right onto Laurel Oak Drive. The final stretch began by taking a left back onto Nicholson Road, a right through Lenzner’s Court, right onto Ridge Road, a left back onto Nicholson Road, a left back into the park. Then runners proceeded down the hill and the race will end in the outer track across from the pavilion at the park.

Doctors of Chiropractic are often concerned with a patient’s leg length inequality (LLI) or discrepancy. LLI is a direct portrayal of neuromuscular dysfunction exhibited by the body. The inequality is usually due to a functional imbalance in the body’s kinetic chain causing neurological insult. Due to the nature of LLI, it takes time to correct because the muscles and ligaments may be chronically sprained/strained. Pay close attention to the picture shown below, as it depicts how spinal/extraspinal dysfunctions can cause LLI.

Various causes may exist and are not limited to the following:

(1). Subluxation/dysfunction of the hip-joint: causing compensatory alterations by the joint and muscles that impact on the joint.

(2). Sacroiliac joint subluxation/dysfunctions

(3). The iliosacral joint subluxation/dysfunction

(4). Shortened hamstring muscles.

(5). Occipito-Atlantal joint subluxation/dysfunction

(6). Sacral dysfunction (nutation or counter nutation)

(7). Plus many more…

A recent study evaluated 3,000 adults aged 50 to 79 who either had knee pain or risk factors for knee osteoarthritis as a part of the Multi Centre Osteoarthritis Study (MOST). Subjects were reassessed after a 30-month period and it was found that arthritic changes in the knee were most significant in individuals with leg length inequality. The shorter leg being more affected. The researchers claim that arthritis in the knee is linked to the common trait of having one leg that is longer than the other. The CDC estimates that 27 million adults had osteoarthritis in 2005 and An estimated 294,000 children under age 18 have some form of arthritis or rheumatic condition; this represents approximately 1 in every 250 children in the U.S. http://www.cdc.gov/arthritis/data_statistics/arthritis_related_stats.htm

Preventive measures should be taken before the onset of chronic and painful arthritis. Preventative measures include specific chiropractic adjustments to re-align involved areas, soft tissue therapies to equalize muscle balance, and dietary/exercise programs. From receiving chiropractic adjustments, a joint regains optimal neurological function. Orthotics should only be sought after maximal chiropractic improvement has been ascertained or over the course of chiropractic care in order to make minor alterations.

By gently correcting somatic dysfunction in a child’s spine, both spinal cord tension and nerve irritation alleviates, and changes are observable in all aspects of life. The case study listed below demonstrates a common and interesting connection between body and brain (mind), specifically by influencing a somato-psychic response. Because the somato-psychic connection is innate, adults may potentially benefit as well .

Clinical Features: A female adolescent with recurring headaches and parasomnia (night terrors) presented for chiropractic care. The headaches and sleep disturbances had a negative affect on her academics, sports, and social life. Upon examination, she had abnormal postural findings indicating cervical, thoracic, and lumbar subluxations.

Intervention and Outcome: The patient was evaluated for postural abnormalities and palpatory muscle hypertonicity, segmental edema, and kinesiopathology during each visit. Postural abnormalities and associated vertebral subluxations were corrected using specific hands on adjusting techniques for a one month period. There was a reduction in headache symptoms and complete resolution of parasomnia (night terrors) following the start of treatment.

Conclusion: Sleep disturbances in children are common and often develop without explanation. To date, there are few interventions that help alleviate the negative affects of interrupted sleep on a child’s daily activities. Vertebral subluxation should be considered when a child is experiencing neuromusculoskeletal symptoms and sleep disturbances of otherwise unknown origin. More research is warranted to explore the benefits of chiropractic care in cases of parasomnia and sleep disturbances.

Cervicocranial symptoms include vertigo (dizziness), cephalea (headache), tinnitus (ringing ears), facial pain, otalgia (earache), dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), pain of the carotid artery (neck area). A lot of people experience a dull, constant throbbing at the base of the skull. This condition may be worsened by movement of the head and neck. It is caused by subluxated (dysfunctional) vertebrae in the neck and/or misaligned cranial bones.

HOW CAN CHIROPRACTIC HELP?

Treatment consists of specific chiropractic adjustments to the area at the base of the skull, the neck, and/or upper back. The treatment may also require additional supportive therapy to improve a patients health, but it is case dependent. Additional supportive therapies include but are not limited to trigger point therapy, doctor-assisted stretching techniques, and postural training.

“I have never been in an accident or hurt so…WHY DOES IT HAPPEN?”

Trauma to the area can be both acute (as a result of car accidents, falls, and/or blows to the head) and chronic (sedentary work i.e. elmentary to post-graduate students, years of football practice, nursing or long-wearing such as holding baby in arms, etc.).